Friday News Roundup: Week of October 19-23

At Ed Money Watch, we discuss and analyze major issues affecting education funding. In our Friday News Roundup, we try to highlight interesting stories that might otherwise get overlooked. These stories emphasize how federal and state policy changes can affect local schools and districts.

Michigan Governor Signs Education Budget, Vetoes Some School Funding

Education Not Spared in Iowa Governor’s Budget Cuts

Lawsuits Filed Over Hawaii Teacher Furloughs

Massachusetts Disputes Pew Report on Early Education Spending

Mississippi Contemplates School District Consolidations

Michigan Governor Signs Education Budget, Vetoes Some School Funding
This week, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm signed the state’s education budget for fiscal year 2010, but not without a line-item veto of $51 million in supplemental payments for the state’s 39 largest and highest spending school districts. Governor Granholm said she was forced to veto the spending because the legislature did not provide enough revenue to pay for the budget. Michigan Senate Republicans say that there was sufficient funding for the payments, and that the Governor is using it as an excuse to push for higher taxes. Separately, The State Board of Education has moved its November 10

meeting up to October 26 to address the 2.9 percent overall cut in the education budget for the 2010 fiscal year. More here and here…

Education Not Spared in Iowa Governor’s Budget Cuts
Iowa Governor Chet Culver this week announced a 10 percent across-the-board budget cut for state agencies. In addition to laying off 791 government employees and leaving 529 positions vacant, departments will have to make cuts to programs and services. Education is no exception. As a result, fewer students will be able to attend preschool for free, college financial aid will be cut, and school lunch prices will go up. Governor Culver wants to force school districts to spend their reserves before raising property taxes to cover state aid cuts. However, many school districts won’t have enough money in their reserves to cover the cuts. Some of these districts may resort to cutting programs rather than raising taxes. Community colleges are also seeing cuts in state aid, forcing them to cut services, layoff staff, or hike tuition. Governor Culver has warned that more cuts are likely next year. More here…

Lawsuits Filed Over Hawaii Teacher Furloughs
Two separate groups in Hawaii have filed lawsuits over teacher furloughs approved by the state Department of Education and the Hawaii State Teachers Association. The groups claim that the agreement, which requires 17 furlough days in the current school year and the 2010-11 school year, would violate Hawaii’s obligation to provide 180 days of schooling to resident children, five days a week. One lawsuit, a class-action case representing all Hawaii public school students, claims that the furloughs disproportionately affect children at certain income levels and of certain racial and ethnic groups. The second lawsuit, filed on behalf of the state’s special education students, claims that the furloughs would cause prohibited changes to special education. State Attorney General Mark Bennett believes the suits are without merit, and will fight them. More here…

Massachusetts Disputes Pew Report on Early Education Spending
According to a report released this week by the Pew Center on the States (Pew), Massachusetts is one of 10 states that made cuts to its prekindergarten spending this year. Pew reported that the state cut aid for its universal prekindergarten program by $2.9 million, the federal Head Start program by $1 million, and scholarships, mental health services, and other “quality improvements” by $5.5 million – a combined 22 percent of the pre-kindergarten budget. State officials claim that the report does not accurately measure the state’s investments in prekindergarten. They note that the Pew report focuses on three areas and doesn’t take into account the overall budget of the Department of Early Education and Care, which fell only by 3.4 percent. Officials at a Boston advocacy group noted that 70 percent of the state’s children aged 3 to 5 are in some form of preschool, and that the state is in the process of improving the quality of the available programs. More here…

Mississippi Contemplates School District Consolidations
Mississippi State Representative George Flaggs this week questioned whether the state can afford its 152 school districts and eight public universities. He suggested that the state consider consolidating school districts in order to save money. Interim state superintendent John Jordan said that, while he understands that these are difficult economic times, he hopes lawmakers will study the impact of consolidations before moving forward. Several school districts in the state have performed voluntary consolidations, providing an opportunity to examine the academic and financial impact of such efforts. Because the state’s continuing drop in revenue forced Governor Haley Barbour to slash $172 million from the state budget last month, lawmakers are considering options, like consolidation, that they wouldn’t have put on the table previously. More cuts are expected as Mississippi’s financial situation becomes clear. More here…

Briefly Noted

• Kansas faces $70 million education budget shortfall.
• Over $115 million transferred to North Carolina Education Fund from lottery.